Take away the fact that “Monsoon Wedding” was filmed in India and it easily could be the story of any American wedding.

Filmed on a 30-day schedule in September 2000, this film follows individual characters compiled of mostly first-time actors as they participate in customary ceremonies leading up to the arranged marriage of Aditi Verma (Vasundhara Das). While these characters are shown bustling around, hiring caterers, erecting a wedding tent and hosting countless get-togethers with family members from all over the globe, it is easy to forget that they are foreign in any way.

Where they paint the bride’s hands to sanctify her for the groom, American brides apply long plastic nails on their fingertips to accent their hands. Where the Indian culture gathers its elders around a fire to sing songs carrying pearls of wisdom to the young couples, we call from house to house collecting roast beef recipes and looking for something borrowed and something blue. While they cover their getaway cars in marigolds, newlywed Americans cover theirs in condoms. The similarities are countless.

Directed by Mira Nair, and nominated for a Golden Globe in the best foreign film category, “Monsoon Wedding” does a beautiful and well-calculated job in mixing old world culture with present-time technology. Although unfamiliar customs are introduced to the Western viewing audience, that is where the differences end.

Aditi Verma has just ended a passionate affair with a married man. She then tries her best to share the excitement of her father, Lalit, as he introduces her to her arranged husband, an Americanized man from a wealthy family. Keeping out of the arrangements for the wedding as much as possible, she watches from a distance as her aunts and cousins become wrapped up in the event.

Taking an interesting turn on different classes of wealth, the cinematography of the film bounces back and forth between scenes and voyeuristic shots of actual natives from the town that make up the setting. The characters go through their daily tasks in sweltering heat, hoping for the clouds to break in a forecasted storm.

Adding to the commentary made on wealth and how it affects people’s lives, a character by the name of P.K. Dubey, a servant to the Verma family, works through his sadness over having worked at so many of the family’s weddings and never having one of his own.

As tensions build, and the heat increases, dramas within the family structure are brought to a boil, threatening to cause a bump in the road for the wedding that is fast approaching. As each character suffers in their own right, the sky breaks open, showering relief on everyone and paving the way for a fresh beginning.

Shown in limited release, “Monsoon Wedding” is a touching and honest film that not only bridges cultural gaps, but also lights a spark in the heart of anyone considering marriage. The characters are well-written and genuinely played, the scenery within the film is breathtakingly beautiful and the soundtrack is hilarious.

Skip the latest action blockbuster that has nothing to offer but body counts and catch phrases, and go see this movie. You just may learn something.